1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to ground planes of antenna systems, and more particularly to a ground plane which comprises photovoltaic cells in one embodiment.
2. Description of Related Art
Solar-powered remote instrumentation packages which communicate by satellite or terrestrial radio links have limitations on their available surface area for the necessary photovoltaic arrays and the associated radio frequency (RF) ground plane required by the radio link electronics. The capability of a photovoltaic array to generate power is a function of the ambient light level and area of the array. It is often the case that the available surface area for mounting photovoltaic cells on a piece of equipment is limited by the operational requirements of the equipment, particularly when the equipment is required to have one or more wireless communication links necessitating an antenna or a series of antennae. Many of these antennae require ground planes to achieve the desired performance. However, the area required by these ground planes reduces the available area for photovoltaic cell coverage. Thus, there is a need for a method and apparatus which overcomes this problem.